"What's New, Buenos Aires?"

¡No he hablado nunca tanto español durante 24 horas! ...Oh, sorry. I was just saying that I have never spoken so much Spanish in a 24 hour period!

15 Junio

¿Qué hay? What all is there to mention? I left my house in Shawnee around 10:45 and made it to the airport before noon; then I waited 2 hours for my flight to Dallas. Since I was flying standby, there was no guarantee that I would be on the first one, but I was. I got to fly first class on this flight, too. But didn't really seem that great. Of course, twenty minutes after we finished our assent, we began descending. I arrived at DFW with plenty of time to chill before my flight at 7:20. But, the plane did not arrive until 11:45 pm!

So I befriended a girl named Camila and her step-mother. Camila was half-Argentine, hence fluent in both English and Spanish, and she would speak in both languages even more than Raliegh does in one. The step-mother, whose name I can't remember is an endocrinologist at the University of Louisville. Her husband is a mammal paleontologist who spends a lot of time in Patagonia and Mongolia. They were interesting to talk to. I also met another woman named Blanca. She was heading home to Paraguay from somewhere in Texas where she goes to a seminary. Although she had lived in the US four years, she couldn't (or didn't) speak English, and didn't try much. Her husband works for Honda. This gave me a great opportunity to rev up my Spengine (get it? Spanish + engine). Later on, these three people became friends through me, and the four of us created a nice little circle of temporary friendship as we waited over 4 hours for our flight.

16 Junio

About an hour before boarding, I got my seat assignment. I was tried to get first class, but I didn't realize that there were extra charges for stand-by travelers, too. So, I let the stewardess pick out a seat for me. I took it back to my circle of friends, and guess who is sitting next to me on the plane? Blanca. This was nice because on this section of the plane, there were two seats: she got the window seat, and I the aisle. If I hadn't been comfortable with the person sitting very near my American personal bubble, then I would surely have had a worse time than I did. It also helped that after getting my seating assignment, I changed into more comfortable clothes, which I am still wearing as I type.

The long flight wasn't bad, just long, and cramped of course. Finally, I made it to Ezeiza Aeropuerto. Apparently, the Argentine government is nervous about swine flu, so as we disembarked, we all wore masks. Customs was no problem, I didn't have to pay the $150 the government keeps talking about enforcing, and I got my luggage quickly. I even met some fellow Americans who were in BA on a mission trip, and they gave me contact info. for their church.

Trouble awaited me as I left the airport. Porteños, the citizens of this "port" city, seem to all be out to get your money. I only exchanged 34 USD in the airport because I knew that airports never have good rates. As soon as I stepped out of the airport, there were a ton of bus and taxi service vendors lined up. One of them wanted me to pay 30 USD to get where I needed, and that didn't sound good to me, so I went over to the bus vendor and got a ticket for 45 ARG (less than 13 USD). My plan was to simply walk from the bus station to Expanish, but I talked to this woman who I met at the airport in Dallas who said, "I wouldn't walk around Buenos Aires as a first time traveler. I'm taking a taxi from the bus station." She also told me not to trust anyone. She kinda freaked me out, and I didn't know what to do at the bus station, especially when the guy at the desk was being a jerk. So I called Expanish from the bus station, and they suggested that I walk. So, I did. This, I found, was a little difficult with the load I was carrying, but I managed.

From walking around Buenos Aires, I've discovered that porteños are pretty serious folk. There are more people on foot than there are in cars. It was like what I imagine New York City to be like, but with older, cruddier roads, and narrower sidewalks. When I got to Expanish, I couldn't get in the door; to get in any of the office buildings, which are more like doors that appear in the middle of rows of small stores, you have to have a key, a code, or push a call button. And after press the button it's just about impossible to understand what the person on the other end is saying. Lucky a woman came who was going to Expanish, and helped me get inside. She led me up the old-fashioned elevator to Expanish, and there I talked to another woman who helped me decide where to stay the night.

We decided on the the nearby V&S Hostel. I went there, and thankfully, the woman who worked there spoke English! This helped me out so much; by that point I had had so much trouble communicating, and her helpfulness was a relief. She set me all up and even gave me directions to two places I needed to go: somewhere to exchange the rest of my cash and somewhere to buy plug-in adapters. Without these things, I wouldn't be able to be typing. This hostel has wi-fi which is nice, and breakfast in the morning. Checkout time tomorrow is before 11, and after that I will go to the hotel where my program will officially begin.

In the end, I've learned that I do need to remain careful about who I trust in Buenos Aires, as many will either not care about my well-being and/or be out to get want my money. Apparently, porteños are not shy about sex. Porn is blatantly available in every magazine/newspaper stand, and a hooker tried to give me her card as I walked by. Later, I started a friendly conversation with a woman who was trying to get me to buy something, and she led me into what looked like a typical bar, but as soon as I entered, another young woman put her hands around my waist seductively. So, I turned and walked out because that was really weird. Definitely culturally shocking.

Now I'm chilling in the lounge area of the hostel. I'm sharing a room with 5 guys. One is from Japan and doesn't speak English, and another is from Dublin and doesn't speak Spanish. It's not even 8:00 here yet, and I can't wait to crash, but I could definitely use the shared shower facility first.

I look forward to structure. The woman who scared me about walking around BA also said that my host family will be my best resource for learning about and getting comfortable with porteño culture. I can't wait to meet them, but alas, I have orientation, first. Cambria and Adam will get here tomorrow morning, too, which will make me feel a lot better. I can't wait to walk around with them so that we can all look like foolish estadounidenses together.